Old topic, but was tempted to add this.There's an Indian movie which released in 2009. In that, the hero tries to save the world from a 'terrible virus', which should not escape from its vial at any cost, and which should be stored at a low temperature. The virus in question has been let out of the lab by some baddies, and the hero runs here and there trying to trace it. eventually, if the virus gets out, only a lot of NaCl can deactivate it ('tons and tons', as they say in the movie!).

Gosh, I cannot recall or imagine anything worse than this...

Sing09

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Not affiliated with any distributor or manufacturer of scientific goods/instrumentation. Mentioning a product is a result of personal preference and does not imply my endorsement of the product to the exclusion of other equally good ones.

One of my favourite movies currently is "Bats". In it a (insane) scientist has created a race of genetically altered, blood-crazy bats... when asked by another member of the cast why he made them he replies "I'm a scientist - it's what I do".Sigh....

Here is another one: "Mega shark vs giant octopus". The shark jumps up 15000 ft in the air and grabs an airplane. This is just not a shark's normal behavior. The director of the movie must think the audience are idiots.

Retired academic researcher. Mention of a specific product does not imply my endorsement of the product. No conflict of interest or guarantee to work on the advice given. Do as I say, not as I do. Not liable to the loss of your valuable samples.

Perhaps sharks behave that way when irritated. (Don't we all?) Was this near tax time? Isn't it possible the shark thought it saw a terrorist on the plane? Or it got delayed in security, and was trying to catch a missed flight.See, there are many possible explanations. I would have thought as a scientist you'd consider all the possibilities.

Oh, come on. Even a non-scientist will not think a shark will have to pay tax or travel on an airplane (which the mega shark treated as a toy). The main point is that a shark seldom jumps out of water, not to mention 15,000 ft.

You miss one BIG reason. It got mad and took revenge on human for killing its children for shark fin soup.

Retired academic researcher. Mention of a specific product does not imply my endorsement of the product. No conflict of interest or guarantee to work on the advice given. Do as I say, not as I do. Not liable to the loss of your valuable samples.

relaxin wrote:The main point is that a shark seldom jumps out of water, not to mention 15,000 ft.

Not that this invalidates your point at all, but it made me think of the spectacular and terrifying videos of Great White Sharks off South Africa walloping seals. Check out the photo at the top of this BBC article.

The sitting of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The Chairmanacad. Alexandrov says: - Now we should decide the unprecedented problem -to exclude acad. Sakharov from our members. Acad. Kapitsa: - Why do yousay that there was no precedent? Under Hitler, acad. Einstein was excludedfrom the German Academy. Acad. Alexandrov: - Well, let's go to the nextproblem.

Oh, how about the last few episodes of "v". They show a DNA molecule with a backbone completely intact but the middle completely missing in some spots, and the "scientist" says: "a portion of the DNA has been taken out, maybe to make space to put a different piece of DNA in". The freshman high school biology student in my mind screamed and hit her head against a wall, repeatedly, in frustration. I was so angry at whoever made the show...No wonder they cancelled it.

I guess Hollywood has learned. In the making of the movie "Contagion", they hired molecular biologist Ian Lipkin as consultant to go through the script and even train the actors how to play scientist in a real BSL-4 lab.

I have not seen the movie yet. If anyone saw these actors doing mouth-pipetting or handling things without gloves in the movie, please let us know.

Retired academic researcher. Mention of a specific product does not imply my endorsement of the product. No conflict of interest or guarantee to work on the advice given. Do as I say, not as I do. Not liable to the loss of your valuable samples.